The squeeze on operators comes from two sides: grow, but demonstrate that every dollar invested is creating lasting value. Given greater costs and stricter regulation, management teams can’t rely solely on reactive decision-making, particularly when budgets cover multiple brands, markets, and channels.
Deloitte described the collaboration initiative as a response to this. John Debattista, Deloitte Malta’s gaming sector leader, said that the goal was to encourage operators to move away from growth through spend and start focusing on growth through outcomes.
What the Setup is Meant to Do
The basic idea behind the partnership is clear: Deloitte provides its consulting, industry, and implementation capabilities, and Fieldstream supplies its analytics platform. With that combo, operators will be able to see what’s driving the performance of the business and then take action.
Fieldstream describes its product as an optimization platform that combines marketing, revenue, and customer data with features like modeling, scenario forecasting, and cohort-level lifetime value analysis.
Where Operators May Feel the Impact First
If the collaboration is successful, the benefits could be realized where it matters most – behind the scenes in planning, budgets, and prioritization. Some upsides cited by Deloitte Malta include:
- Budgeting by channel and market, based on repeatable logic rather than guesswork;
- Forecasts and scenario planning prior to launches or major campaign pivots;
- Executive-level reporting that ties marketing efforts to actual financial results.
According to Kurt Rapinett, head of emerging technology and AI at Deloitte Malta, it should be able to provide operators with a clear sense of where to invest and where to optimize.
What To Watch Next
This partnership announcement is part of a broader trend for 2026, where analytics moves from optional, dashboard-style approaches into actual decision engines. Key things to watch include:
- Signals of operator adoption, such as client wins, case studies, and results;
- How value is defined in the delivery, including margin, lifetime value, and payback periods;
- Delivery friction, including data quality, attribution complexity, and change management inside marketing and finance.
Implications for iGaming Leaders
To the CMOs, CFOs, and BI leaders, the overall message is where this is all heading. Boards are asking tougher questions about efficiency, predictability, and capital management. Collaborations like that between Deloitte and Fieldstream demonstrate the idea of marketing performance as a balance-sheet conversation.
Operators that invest early in a strong data foundation and shared KPIs between marketing and finance could be the ones to leverage the most value out of the platforms. Those who view analytics as a “plug-on” might have a difficult time acting on the results.
